 |
HOME PAGE
|
||
Humility Two Ducks and a frog lived in a pond. One year there was a terrible heat wave and the pond dried up. The two ducks decided to fly away and find another pond. The frog asked them if he could go with them, or else he would die. The ducks agreed, but didn't know how to take him with them. He thought and thought and came up with a brilliant idea!. He would ask the two ducks to hold a stick between them as they flew, and he would hang on with his mouth. Well they started their journey and off they went. Higher and higher they flew searching out a new pond. A farmer was looking up and he saw the incredible sight. He said "Wow!, that's incredible!, ingenious! I wonder who was the smart one who thought of that idea for survival". The frog and the ducks heard the farmer's exclamation below. The frog was delighted with the complements and shouted his answer to the farmer "I did!" …………….. splat!!! This may not be a biblical story, or a parable, but there is truth in it. If the frog had remained humble about his plan, he would have been saved. But he had to show off, get the praise of men, and you know what happened to him!. Prov 29:23 A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honour. Prov 11:2 When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. The frog may have been clever, but not wise. If he was wise he would not have wanted the praise of men, and he would have lived. Instead he foolishly wanted recognition and died. Pride comes before a fall, so the old saying goes. Today I'm not focusing on pride, but humility. But most of the time wherever you find humility in the bible, you will find pride. The two are mirror images of each other. They are exact opposites, like black and white, full and empty and so on. In Christian life the very same holds true. The proud, arrogant, the boastful, those who speak about themselves all the time. They suffer from I disease … These are they type of Christians that every church can happily do without. You can always spot them exalting themselves to those who need help. They might think they are ministering or helping whoever needs help. But they are in reality shooting the weak and wounded soldiers. They either quote scripture ... or Tell of how they overcame the same situation. They may not see how much harm this does, because it crushes or shipwrecks the faith of the one who is suffering. They are full of their own self-importance, as if the church wouldn't survive without them. Sometimes they imagine themselves in leadership, and even begin to act like they are. I have come across this problem too many times. A friend of mine went to a church which didn't have a pastor, but it had a board of elders. He didn't know who the elders were at first, they were quite humble people. But behind the scenes they worked hard to organise things and minister to people. But what he did see were those who dressed and acted like they were important. He thought they were the elders. He made the mistake of seeking help and discipleship from one of these people. They made his life hell. He found out by accident that that person wasn't in leadership, and had just started to come to the church a few weeks before he had. And that that person had been in many other churches and caused trouble. Because they believed they were 'in their own eyes' a leader, and able to pastor better than the pastors. Their bible knowledge was mature, but the rest of their spiritual life was as developed as an infants. And they could only see themselves and behave like they were the most important person in the universe. Well to cut a long story short, that person still hasn't grown in the Lord, and is still going around the Dublin churches seeking to Lord it over new believers and vulnerable people. There are people like that everywhere, be careful. There is a spiritual thermometer that we can use to see if we are growing in the Lord, and that is humility. One of my favourite writers and evangelists from the last century, D.L Moody said this: He could tell when a Christian was growing. In proportion to his growth in grace he would lift up his Master, Jesus Christ, and talk less about what he himself was doing, and become smaller and smaller in his own eyes. Until, like the morning star, he faded away before the rising Sun. When we die to ourselves, Jesus rises up. John the Baptist said when speaking of Jesus and how Jesus was getting more converts than him in John 3:30: He must become greater, I must become less. The more areas of our lives we surrender to Jesus, the more the Son shines. The more of our selfish nature that we give to Jesus, the more of Jesus' nature will be seen in us. That will be seen mostly in our humility.
A little poem I found in a very old Christian book might be worth thinking about. It goes like this: I used to think that God's gifts were on shelves One above another. And the taller we grow, The easier it is to reach them.
Now I find that God's gifts are on shelves One beneath another And the lower we stoop, The more we get!.
You know humility isn't just for individuals though, it's also for churches!. Thomas Aquinas once visited Pope Innocent IV. The Pope showed him the rich treasures of the Roman church and boasted that "The time had gone when the church was saying, 'silver & gold I have none'". "Yes", replied Thomas, "and the time has gone when the church could say to the lame man at the temple gate 'Rise up and walk!'". After Pentecost the church in Jerusalem was full of Spirit-filled believers. You can read about it in Acts chapters 2,3,4 & 5 Where the church people were all together, giving and sharing. The Holy Spirit moved mightily among them, and many miracles were seen. And the guy's who were full of the Holy Spirit weren't the ones who had the 'Power' ministries, they were the ones who waited on tables! Wouldn't it be great if the church were like that today? But today there is denominationalism, and with that comes pride instead of humility. Some people in denominations are proud and consider themselves to be in the best church or the right church. I have friends in the Church of Ireland who think that Charismatics or Pentecostals are crazy and not very Biblical. They are proud of their traditions and age. Then there are Pentecostals and Charismatics who believe other churches don't really worship God because they aren't in their opinion, 'Spirit Filled'. Both sides are not really helping the body of Christ at all with that kind of pride and feeling of self importance. Do you know I have seen more evidence of the working of the Holy Spirit in a small Methodist church than I have seen in Pentecostal churches. A manifestation of the Holy Spirit lasts only seconds or minutes. It may continue for weeks months or a year or so. But the fruits of the Holy Spirit take a life surrendered to God, and have a greater effect on the lives of those who come into contact with those who's lives display them. But while we are on the subject of churches. Do you know that more missionaries come from small local churches?. It's true! When someone once joked with me about Calvary churches being so small, I agreed. I told them "It's terrible, all the congregation keep going and becoming missionaries instead of staying in church and keeping the seats warm on Sundays!". But we shouldn't take pride in whatever church we serve in. We should look to serving the whole body of Christ humbly, no matter what denominational differences there are. That doesn't mean compromising the gospel either though. Let me define a church that is part of the body of Christ: A church that proclaims the full gospel of repentance for sins, Christ's death as the finished work for salvation by grace through faith, love for others and living the Word of God. If any church misses out on any of these points there is something very wrong. We should humbly submit to one another in the love of Christ. But what good comes from being humble anyway. The Bible, God's Word says in Proverbs 22:4 Humility and the fear of the LORD bring wealth and honour and life. So there are benefits, wealth, honour and life. The wealth of God's love is greater than any money or material goods. Honour that comes from God is eternally better than the shallow and temporary praise of men. And the new life that comes from God is a life that's really worth living. It's a life that is free from fear and worry. God takes these things away from those that put their trust in Him. It is a life free from the controlling power of sin. The more you submit to Him, the less power sin has over you. Humble yourselves brothers and sisters, stop striving to better one another. The way we will really know that you are growing in the Lord is when Jesus is the one lifted up instead of yourselves. The way we will really know that you are growing in the Lord is when you stop talking about yourselves, and putting down others. Lift up and encourage others, talk about what Jesus is doing, not about what you are doing in the name of Jesus. God Bless! © 1998 Shaun Aisbitt
|
|
||
E-mail me here